Socioeconomic and technological trends are driving designers of computer systems to reduce power consumption by computer systems and ameliorate problems related to heat dissipation within computer systems by reducing voltages supplied to components of computer systems. Increasing concern for the environmental consequences of power generation are driving consumer demand for “green” products in general, and energy-efficient electronic devices and appliances, in particular. Lower-voltage devices are often more cost effective to operate, over time, and may be less expensive to manufacture. The geometrically increasing densities and increasing operational frequencies of random-access memories and other computer components are creating ever increasing heat-dissipation problems for components of computer systems, mobile telephones, and other electronic device, often ameliorated, to some degree, by reducing voltages, output from power-supplies, at which the memories and other components operate.
Although use of lower voltages may decrease power consumption and heat generation, use of lower voltages may also have unintended effects of degrading signal integrity within components of electronic systems by reducing the magnitude of the voltage swings between binary OFF and ON signals and by increasing response times. Furthermore, the voltage requirements and voltage-reduction tolerances of various internal subcomponents of a component may significantly differ. A voltage reduction that produces no deleterious effects in certain voltage-reduction-tolerant subcomponents may seriously degrade the performance of, and increase the error rate in, another subcomponent. In addition, high-power components may, as a result of voltage reductions, draw greater currents, resulting in increased power dissipation through power-supplying signal lines. Many systems employ multiple, relatively inefficient linear voltage regulators, the efficiencies of which decrease as the voltage output by the voltage regulator decreases relative to the input voltage, to internally distribute power signals with various different voltages. Decreasing output voltages from these voltage regulators may decrease the power efficiency of the containing system or device. For these reasons, designers, manufacturers, and, ultimately, users of electronic systems continue to seek lower-power-consuming computer systems and other electronic systems and devices that lower power consumption without introducing signal degradation, power-distribution inefficiencies, and/or unreliable operation.